Notes and notables

A weekly roundup of short opinions offered by the Daily Press Editorial Board

October 31, 2013

A young man speaks up

Curtis Bethany III was disturbed by what he was seeing, and he wanted to do something about it. That's how simple his motivation was.

Mr. Bethany, a 22-year-old Woodside High School graduate, organized a forum at his alma mater on Wednesday night aimed at getting the community talking about ways to address violent crime in Newport News. The story isn't a new one, but a couple of recent homicides with victims in his own age range prompted Mr. Bethany to speak up.

His impromptu forum drew a crowd of about 80 people, including Mayor McKinley Price, acting police chief Joe Moore as well as several members of City Council and the School Board.

We won't know what long-term effect Mr. Bethany's efforts will have, if any. But this is how change begins. Not with huge crowds coming together, but with a smaller group of committed people. Not with easy answers being proposed, but with hard questions being asked and discussed. Whatever comes of it, you have to like seeing a young man stepping up to publicly address such an important issue.

For more thoughts on the issue of violent crime on the Peninsula, look for a column in Sunday's Daily Press co-written by Hampton Mayor George Wallace and Vice-Mayor Linda Curtis.

Staying in character

Give this much to Herb DeGroft: The outgoing Isle of Wight County School Board member is who he is. Of course, that's why he's "outgoing."

Mr. DeGroft has been a valuable member of the School Board, unafraid to ask tough questions and challenge his colleagues. Unfortunately, he gave up all credibility when it came out that he and Byron "Buzz" Bailey, vice chairman of the county's Board of Supervisors, were in the habit of passing along blatantly racist emails under the auspices of "humor."

They forwarded these emails to dozens of people, including other county officials and the editor of The Smithfield Times. When some of the recipients objected and the story came to light, both Mr. DeGroft and Mr. Bailey tried to defend these emails as acceptable and amusing. One of the emails, for example, compared First Lady Michelle Obama – who has an undergraduate degree from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard – to a African tribal woman toting a spear and dancing topless. Har de har-har.

Both men refused to resign, but at least Mr. DeGroft had the sensibility to announce he would not seek re-election this fall. His replacement will be elected on Tuesday and sworn in on Jan. 1.

If Mr. DeGroft learned anything from his public humiliation, it was only that as a lame duck board member he has nothing to lose. Because, yes, he still passes along offensive emails. We know this because, yes, we are on one of his distribution lists. The most recent one drew comparisons between President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler, with a personal note from Mr. DeGroft adding Josef Stalin and Chairman Mao to the mix. To this, we would point out: Hitler, Stalin and Mao imprisoned and executed tens of millions of their own citizens, while President Obama has worked to enact a flawed health care plan.

Mr. DeGroft has the right of free speech. He sent these emails from his private account, not his official Isle of Wight County account. We are not suggesting that he should face punitive consequences. But to compare these genocidal dictators to a democratically elected president demeans the memories of their victims, and of all the brave American veterans who fought and died to stop their ilk. For a public official to proudly send such comparisons in emails is nauseating.

But give Mr. DeGroft credit: He is clearly leaving the School Board on his own terms.

Roses and thorns

Each week, the Daily Press Editorial Board offers a list of area citizens or institutions deserving of "roses" or "thorns."

This week's roses go to:

All or the organizers and volunteers who worked at the Virginia Fall Classic Car Show at Newport News Park, which raised tens of thousands of dollars for Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.

A full bouquet in memory of Inettie Banks Edwards, the longtime educator and activist from Newport News who died this month at age 96.

This week's thorns go to:

Robert Walls of Richmond, who was arrested in York County in July 2011 on drunken driving charges related to a hit-and-run accident. Thirty months later, he still hasn't stood trial because a long line of attorneys have found him impossible to work with.

Whoever is responsible for the accidental release of a murder suspect from the Newport News City Jail. Various parties in Hampton and Newport News are pointing fingers every which way, so we'll have to wait and see how to formally address this packet of thorns.